UK unveils ‘backstop’ plan to force pension funds to invest in private assets
Chancellor Rachel Reeves threatens to mandate retirement schemes if they fall short of voluntary targets
UK is not ‘a charity’, aid minister will tell MPs as she considers cuts
Development reductions include possible axing of support for education and gender programmes
British Airways boss says ‘game-changing’ AI has helped cut delays
Airline had been grappling with a rising number of disrupted flights since the end of the pandemic
Spring sunshine and late Easter boost UK consumer spending
Retail sales increase at an annual rate of 7 per cent in April despite uncertainty over US tariffs
FT Crossword: Number 18,052
Terror police probe possible link between Starmer home fire and other blazes
Metropolitan Police investigating three incidents in north London
Proxy adviser ISS backs Elliott in fight against Phillips 66
Endorsement gives hedge fund a leg-up in campaign to overhaul refiner’s board
London’s transport network disrupted by power outage
Thousands of passengers affected as several train lines were delayed or suspended on Monday afternoon
Crypto miner backed by Trump sons to list on Nasdaq
Move to tap equity investors highlights sector’s revival under Donald Trump
FirstFT: US stocks soar after Washington and Beijing agree tariff truce
Also in today’s newsletter, Modi claims Indian military ‘superiority’ over Pakistan, and China’s CATL to raise at least $4bn
Who blinked first? How the US and China broke their trade deadlock
Secret meeting in IMF basement paved way for tariff deal seen on both sides as a victory
S&P 500 notches third-biggest jump of past 5 years on trade deal hopes
Equities, dollar and oil advance in afternoon trading after world’s biggest economies reduce punitive levies
Wall Street stocks soar on US-China tariff reprieve
Deal stokes optimism among investors that Donald Trump will de-escalate trade war
White South Africans arrive in US under Trump refugee scheme
President offered asylum to Afrikaners he says have faced violence and discrimination since end of apartheid
Starmer faces business backlash over UK migration curbs
Tough proposals including ending automatic settlement after five years would end ‘squalid chapter’ for country, PM says
White House pushes lower US drugs prices with tariff threat to Europe
Trump sets out plans for cost targets and eliminating ‘middlemen’ in executive order
China and US agree to slash tariffs
Deal to reduce duties for next 90 days marks first sign of tension easing between the two economic superpowers
Two BoE policymakers warn against rushing to further cut interest rates
Clare Lombardelli and Megan Greene want to see more evidence that inflationary pressures are easing
Perplexity nears second fundraising in six months at $14bn valuation
Artificial intelligence search start-up backed by Accel in $500mn round
Bulgarian who led Russia-backed spy ring in the UK jailed for 10 years
Orlin Roussev was one of six who engaged in espionage
Starmer seeks to cut UK migration and refocus it on graduate work
PM’s plan reverses post-Brexit liberalisation that allowed foreigners to fill positions in industries such as adult care
An uneasy US-China détente on tariffs
Uncertainty around Trump’s trade war has not gone away
Modi says India has proved ‘superiority’ over Pakistan in clashes
Prime minister claims victory after ceasefire but warns New Delhi has ‘only suspended’ military operation
Hamas says it has released Israeli-American hostage
Handover of Edan Alexander comes ahead of Donald Trump’s trip to the Gulf